one of those here-today-gone-tomorrow
carnivals, set up on the green lawn
right next to the rec center
never let anyone tell you carnies
don’t know how to market themselves
small affair, few rides, few games
a couple of food booths
long before everything was deep fried
lucky if they have hot dogs or nachos
with cheese sauce from those industrial-sized
barrels like it had been sucked out
of the earth
one ride makes me realize
i will never go to space
the hammers
twin metal cages on long
pole arms
on either side of a column
thrown together from
some kind of adult erector set
they rotate
spin toward each other
probably so you could wave
at the idiots in the other cage
I didn’t have time to wave or
even look at anyone else
all i felt was g force
quarters flying out of my pockets
bouncing like meteors pinging
and ricocheting off the metal grills
it’s the first ride i’ve
ever just wanted to stop
just
stop
with empty pockets, i stagger out
of the little metal box
and my stomach wants to empty out
and i can’t even look up
at the stars i will never fly to
because the vertigo spins the ground
like an lp around the axis
of my feet
——
for
dVerse ~ Poets Pub
Poetics: Amuse me! Take me for a ride!
Words and Feathers 